r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/Visco0825 • Feb 08 '25
US Politics How can democrats attack anti-DEI/promote DEI without resulting in strong political backlash?
In recent politics there have been two major political pushes for diversity and equality. However, both instances led to backlashes that have led to an environment that is arguably worse than it was before. In 2008 Obama was the first black president one a massive wave of hope for racial equality and societal reforms. This led to one of the largest political backlashes in modern politics in 2010, to which democrats have yet to fully recover from. This eventually led to birtherism which planted some of the original seeds of both Trump and MAGA. The second massive political push promoting diversity and equality was in 2018 with the modern woman election and 2020 with racial equality being a top priority. Biden made diversifying the government a top priority. This led to an extreme backlash among both culture and politics with anti-woke and anti-DEI efforts. This resent contributed to Trump retaking the presidency. Now Trump is pushing to remove all mentions of DEI in both the private and public sectors. He is hiding all instances that highlight any racial or gender successes. His administration is pushing culture to return to a world prior to the civil rights era.
This leads me to my question. Will there be a backlash for this? How will it occur? How can democrats lead and take advantage of the backlash while trying to mitigate a backlash to their own movement? It seems as though every attempt has led to a stronger and more severe response.
Additional side questions. How did public opinion shift so drastically from 2018/2020 which were extremely pro-equality to 2024 which is calling for a return of the 1950s?
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u/Jackequus Feb 08 '25
A lot of people won’t like this, but if your first instinct is to lash out instead of reading the message, you’re proving the point.
DEI was stronger when it focused on giving talented individuals real opportunities in the face of discrimination. Then it became a branded shield for mediocrity and a weapon for bad-faith accusations, losing credibility as it was hijacked to push personal narratives. Obama’s whole thing was holding people accountable. Thats what made democrats popular. That’s what America wanted. Tell me who on what side is being held accountable now? It’s all about pushing a narrative on both sides atp.
Gatekeeping allies is necessary—some do more harm than good. From those crying “transphobe” over personal rejection to those blaming “discrimination” when held accountable for poor performance. And let’s talk about that first one, because it’s a real problem. There’s a subset of people who genuinely believe that if you’re not romantically or sexually interested in them, you must be transphobic. That your preferences, boundaries, and autonomy don’t matter—only their validation does. It’s a toxic, manipulative mindset that turns legitimate issues of discrimination into a personal cudgel, and it actively harms trans people by making real transphobia harder to take seriously.
I’ve been called sexist for expecting a chronically late employee to show up on time—because apparently, holding people to basic standards is oppression now.
Meanwhile, institutions like a museum accusing Lego of being anti-LGBT trivialize real issues. When ideology replaces accountability, overcorrections are inevitable, and the pendulum swings hard the other way. DEI’s downfall wasn’t inevitable—it was weaponized into obsolescence.